High Court finds UK government failed to properly assess deregulation of NGTs

05 June 2026

The UK High Court finds that the UK Government failed to fully investigate the consequences of its decision to deregulate gene-edited organisms in the so-called precision breeding regulations, signed into law in 2025.

This UK legislation covers the same gene editing techniques that fall under the scope of the New Genomic Techniques regulation in preparation in the EU, which SAFE has challenged to demand full traceability and labelling requirements for all NGTs, to protect both consumer choice and the integrity of organic food production.

The case was filed by British non-profit Beyond GM. 

The Court found that the UK government did not investigate fully the consequences of its decision to deregulate precision bred organisms (PBOs) before removing longstanding safeguards on transparency, traceability, labelling and regulatory oversight.  

During the court case, the UK government itself conceded that PBO seeds should be labelled. The Court also recognised that the absence of mandatory labelling and traceability places additional significant burdens on organic and non-organic supply chains, making it more difficult and costly for farmers, food businesses and consumers that seek to avoid genetically modified products.

Following the same reasoning, SAFE calls for all safeguards on transparency, traceability, and labelling of all GMOs, including NGTs, to be upheld in EU legislation and calls the European Parliament to revert to its original proposal.

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